by Jo Penn
“Boy, there is such a thing as too social. In the psychology dictionary your picture would be beside the definition.” Sebastian just grinned, shaking his head. “So, Keeley, really, if you ever feel like talking, I’m a great listener.”
“Ugh, you’re like a shifter psychologist?” Keeley plastered a smile on his face. “Oh, thanks, Doc, that’s really sweet you care enough to offer, but I don’t mind my cute, quirky, commitment-phobic self. And I don’t want to take your valuable time away from your other patients who obviously need your expertise...” He looked pointedly at the four other cubs at the table. “Do you have a lot of staff at your clinic?”
Ace wiggled till he was under the table and shifted into his little cloud leopard form, scratched Marco’s leg in passing, hissed at Sebastian, and darted out of the kitchen.
“He’s such a sensitive little snot,” Marco grumbled, rubbing his leg.
“You have to stop calling him a psychotic leopard,” Sebastian admonished. “It’s not good for his psyche.”
“But he is psychotic!” Marco grumbled. “Last night he crept into my room and left four dead mice in my bed, all decapitated and partially mauled.”
“Oh, that’s cute, the little cloud leopard’s showing his love for his older cousin.” Luka grinned.
“Is there any chocolate?” Keeley asked, eyeing up Seb’s beer.
“Are you old enough to drink?” Seb asked.
“Yes, I’m twenty-two.”
“Nope, cubs don’t get to drink until they’re twenty-five,” Sebastian said, straight-faced.
“Umm, yum, chocolate.” Marco took off for the pantry.
Keeley’s face fell. “But…but Xavier lets me drink.”
“Lets you? Interesting choice of words,” Luka said quietly.
Keeley slumped in his chair. “Yeah, I’m just the wimpy little human. There’s a lot of what I’m allowed and not allowed.”
Laurie rolled his eyes. “Oh, like when Xavier said no, you couldn’t go to Disneyland and you took off anyway with those three witches. Or when Queen Bethany asked you not to touch the cruise control button on the yacht and you did anyway and half the coven on-board got thrown off. Or when—”
“Oooh, chocolate, thanks, Marco.”
“No probs, Keels.” Marco stuffed chocolate into his mouth.
“Can I have a beer?” Keeley asked Drake.
“Sebastian was stirring. You’re over twenty-one. You can drink, in moderation of course—but no, you can’t have a beer.” Drake grinned at his mate’s petulant look. “Only because for the next week your body is going through the change to accept my DNA, which means only healthy food and no alcohol or strong drugs.” Drake eyed the chocolate. “Actually, you’ve already had…forget it.”
Once all the chocolate was shoved into Keeley’s mouth, there really wasn’t much point objecting.
“Have you got these three under control?”
“Yep, they have a lesson with Instructor Carmon. She’ll be taking them through the court system for the next hour and a half. After that they should be ready to crash. Ace, though, I don’t think will sit through the session. I can’t get him to stay put and keep his claws in lately.”
Since Sebastian actually seemed worried about that, Drake nodded. “I’ll get Keeley settled back in our suite and see what I can do with Ace.”
“Right, good. Baron’s around, Ryder is at his clinic, and Emile just terrifies the poor cub.”
Ever since Ace had tripped and somehow managed to destroy Emile’s entire office in less than ten seconds, Ace had been terrified of Emile. Emile may have roared when it happened, but he’d also scooped up their little cousin and gotten him out safely, protecting him. Ace hero-worshipped Emile, and destroying his office pretty much sent the scatterbrained leopard into a tizzy. He felt sure Emile was going to seek revenge. That was what a leopard would do. A lion, though, would just give a smackdown at the time.
As soon as they got to the suite, Keeley went to the bathroom and then said he wanted to watch a movie and relax. Drake caught a few thoughts through their link before Keeley closed him out again, and he knew that his mate required a bit of quiet time to himself and to think, so Drake left him to it and went in search of Ace.
By following his nose, he found his little cousin at the arena, watching the training and being eyed up by a dozen or so shifters, a fae, and a visiting gargoyle. His cousin was an adorable wisp of a creature.
Ace didn’t want to train, he didn’t want to talk, and he glared at all the soldiers, trainers, and creatures like they were out to do him some sort of harm.
Managing to get his cousin calmed down and to see reason, Drake got Ace back to the palace, where he had Baron took him into the security office, as Ace loved to sit and creature-watch. Baron was head of Sanchez Security and often brought Ace in to watch the monitors, as the leopard was observant. With no social skills.
“You’re right with him?”
“Yeah. I’ll box Marco’s ears later.”
“Sebastian will be taking care of that in a nice social skills session at his clinic tomorrow.”
Baron grinned. “Good. Smart-ass, punk cubs. Ace, too close to the monitor.”
With a hiss, Ace pulled his face back. “Look! He’s jiggling his bits everywhere. Ewww, gross!”
They both scrambled to look, Baron snorting a laugh at one of the soldiers dancing in the empty showers and then frowned.
“Why is there a camera in the showers?”
“Oh, Marco and Luka put it in there earlier between training sessions,” Ace said.
“I’m gonna kill them,” Baron growled.
“Good. Have them mucking out the showers and toilets for the next week.” Drake answered his ringing phone. “Dom, how is the move coming along?”
“Ah, well, good…except we may have run into a snag.”
Chapter Eight
Glaring at his phone in shock a moment, Drake bit back his growl, as it seemed to unsettle Keeley the few times he’d done it with aggression. He took a few calming breathes before responding.
“Excuse me? Did you say ‘no,’ Xavier?” He managed to get it out with enough dripping venom but without the yelling. Drake was chuffed with himself.
“I did. Do you not understand the word, Drake? Shall I explain it to you?”
Ooh, his mate was so going to get it when he got his hands on the snarky vampire. Stepping away from Keeley’s very curious gaze, he dropped his voice low.
“Get in your fucking Ferrari and drive back to the compound, mate. Now.”
“You seem not to understand me, Drake. I won’t bother to repeat myself.”
With that, Xavier hung up. Drake forced another growl back down and paced. The vampire just hung up on him! Stunned, with his anger at a boiling point, he nearly walked right over Keeley, who had somehow moved from the sofa to stand directly in front of him without Drake noticing.
“Xavier okay?” Keeley didn’t really seem that worried, but Drake didn’t have time to ponder that.
“He’s fine.”
“Then when is he coming back here?”
“That’s the issue, my mate. Our vampire has decided to stay at his grandmother’s coven tonight.”
“Is that all? Why are you so bent out of shape?”
Getting steamed up again, Drake paced away from Keeley and vented. “Because they had a security alert there. Xavier needs to return home immediately where he’s safe, not stay there where anyone could get him.”
“Really? That coven is locked up tighter than this place. No one gets past those witches and wizards. I know, I’ve tried. It’s damn impossible.” Keeley plonked down on the sofa and picked up his e-book. “Though, of course, there is that wizard who has the biggest crush on Xav. He’s kinda a hottie. Bit of a psycho, though, and he’s got some power. Sometimes Xav’s a bit too sure of himself. Then again, he’s a big, tough vamp.”
Just about everything Keeley said threw Drake into an overdrive of anger and w
orry. He wanted Xavier here, safe, under his protection. Drake glanced at Keeley, who was back to reading.
“What do you know about the wizard? I’m assuming this is a different one from the wizard Misha told me about. Is he strong enough to cause a problem?”
“I don’t know, I’m just a human. Like I know anything about magic and powers.” Keeley shrugged without concern. Then, as though realizing Drake was glaring at him, he looked up. “If you’re so worried about the psycho wizard stalker and a security alert at the coven, why don’t you just go and keep Xavier safe? What’s the big deal? Isn’t that what mates do? That’s what Xavier’s always going on about.”
That was an excellent plan and exactly what Drake wanted to do. Except there was Keeley, his angelic little light. Drake didn’t want to leave Keeley all alone in their suite. That didn’t sit well with him, especially when Keeley had just arrived, but he couldn’t take his human mate into danger. That went strictly against his moral code of protecting and loving his mates. It was a dilemma.
“Xavier should have done what he was told,” Drake snapped, running a hand over his hair in agitation.
“Why? Xavier does what he wants, when he wants, and won’t be told what to do.” Keeley shrugged. “He’s the big boss, all elegant and cool.”
Drake curled a lip. “He is not the boss. I am the alpha. Xavier is mine.”
“Whatever. As I said, he’s safe there and will do what he wants. If it’s the wizard causing a problem, he’ll just deal with the psycho. If not, no harm, no foul.”
Everything Keeley said was sending Drake out of his ever-loving mind! Striding away, he double-checked the time on his phone and then spoke to Dominic again, who said the same as before. Xavier had gotten a call from the W&W coven and took off in his Ferrari, turning around and speeding past the group who were headed back to the compound after packing up Xavier’s house. Dom and Jax had immediately turned around and chased him, but there was no way they were catching a Ferrari, and by the time they figured out where Xavier had gone the coven was in lockdown and they weren’t given permission to enter.
Jax and Dominic were very pissed off. Xavier was under their protection away from the compound and Drake’s mate had basically ditched them and…fled? No, that didn’t feel right to Drake with his vampire mate. Xavier was a stand-his-ground type, but to lock his brother and personal security out of the coven didn’t sit well with Drake.
When Keeley had commented that Xavier was the boss, that he did what he wanted, that had gotten Drake riled right up. And he just damn well knew Xavier would confront someone who was a threat to the W&W coven, with or without backup.
“Gee, you’re really worried, aren’t you?”
Keeley just didn’t seem to have any idea. Xavier had probably sheltered him as much as possible from the knowledge of how deadly paranormals could be. That was good, but right now it didn’t help.
“Mates worry about each other.”
“Are you just staying here because of me? Because that’s like, I don’t know, stupid?”
“Stupid! What?” Drake growled, stunned.
“I’m sitting here in an impenetrable palace fortress with hundreds of lethal cat shifters reading my e-book. I so don’t think I’m in any danger, except from you growling too loud and maybe tossing a chair when you get steamed up. So go already if you’re so worried, though you know, Xavier can look after himself and sometimes he just needs a breather. I wouldn’t worry too much. He’ll be back in a few days.”
Drake’s mouth fell open. “A what? A breather?”
Keeley blinked at him. “Umm, yeah, like a break? A mini-holiday. That sounds fun, actually. Maybe Xavier will take me on one soon. Do you think he would? Maybe to New York for the weekend?”
When Drake was finished staring at his angelic, completely oblivious mate in stunned silence, he snapped his mouth closed and rubbed his forehead.
“Does Xavier like to take these breathers often?”
“Sure, who doesn’t? He makes sure I’m safe and then goes off for a few days. It’s cool.”
“It is so not cool!” Drake gasped a few deep breaths to calm down, not wanting to startle or upset his mate. “Keeley, mates do not take breathers from one another, especially without prior discussion.”
Who knew it would be Xavier who did a runner? Drake did not see that coming, and when he got hold of his vamp, he’d damn well manhandle him all he wanted and he would learn there were not to be anymore breathers! Gods, he was shocked Xavier would just up and leave their mate, too.
“Whatever.” Keeley had gone back to his e-book.
Drake was really sick of hearing the word ‘whatever.’
“Keeley, I am going to Xavier and bringing him home. I should be back in an hour. There are food and drink in the fridge, satellite on the television, and if you need anything or want company, just go downstairs or call one of my family members on the house phone.” Drake tapped the e-book to make sure his mate was listening.
“Hey! You just made it jump pages! Now I have to find where I was, and numbers jumble up for me, making it very hard to know which page I was on.”
Now he felt like a heel. Xavier had mentioned Keeley suffered from a learning disability, a form of dyscalculia.
“Sorry, my light. Did you hear what I said?”
“Sure, whatever, you’re going to see Xav and will be back here to this giant palace. Do we have popcorn?”
The attention span of a gnat. Drake had to smile. He was falling hard for his little mate, and at the same time, he was terrified of him. Keeley was just in a world of his own and seemed so out of Drake’s reach—like his hand was passing through sunlight streams.
“I’m not sure, I haven’t stocked the pantry for a while. Are you going to be okay here?”
“Umm, I guess so. It’s not a hovel, and the guard on the door is mated, so he won’t try anything.”
Drake frowned. “No one will touch you, Keeley, you’re safe here.”
Keeley nodded, dreamy hazel eyes peeking up at Drake from beneath his long lashes.
“You want to, though.”
“Touch you? I want to ravish you until all you can think about is me.”
“Oh, well…” Keeley flushed and went back to his e-book.
Yeah, this would take some time. Five minutes later, he assured his mate he would return soon and advised him, if there were any problems, to just pick up the house phone. Keeley did and asked for popcorn, which made Drake feel better. He was out the door and jumping into his car a few moments later with Dominic beside him.
“So, on a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you?”
“One thousand and twenty-nine.”
“Good to know. Xavier probably just wants to protect his family there. I’m not saying he did the right thing, but from what I understand he doesn’t live within either of his covens, so he has been on his own for a long time, and then just with Keeley. That means he’s not used to answering to or discussing decisions with anyone.”
“Maybe so, but that’s not how we do things. He needs to understand that. The W&W coven is his family, but so are we. If they need assistance, he informs me, and we work out a way to provide it.”
“So tell him that and let this go. You’re a hard-ass when you’re pissed and feel someone’s disobeyed you. Xavier’s your mate and powerful himself. He won’t take to being pushed around.”
They drove nearly all the way to the coven in silence. It was five miles outside of Milson City, on the opposite side from the compound, making it a ten-mile drive. Drake was thinking deeply, tapping the wheel just as they turned into the long driveway of the coven.
“Does Xavier seem the sort to take ‘breathers’ to you?”
“What the hell is a ‘breather’?” Dom was playing a game on his phone and obviously losing.
“I don’t know, something Keeley mentioned.”
“Hang on. Your other mate said Xavier, the responsible, smart, got-it-all vampire, takes breath
ers? As in takes a break from his life, a little time out away from home? A home where he lives and breathes his mate, the light of his life, the one he cannot be without?”
“I’ve been played,” Drake said with a pathetic, dismal growl.
“Oh, brother, you so have. I warned you not to listen to a word that little human says. Until he settles in, he’s going to be jerking you around any way he can to keep you away from him. So he told you Xavier takes breathers. What else did he say?”
Drake had been thinking about their conversation for the last fifteen minutes and was pretty annoyed, wincing mentally and physically.
“Damn, he’s good. There I was, thinking he’s completely oblivious to any danger, but instead, he’s firing me up to come to Xavier. Innocently says how my mate has a psycho stalker, yet at the same time, reminds me Xavier can take care of himself. He set me up!”
Just then, his phone rang. Drake pulled up outside the gate to the coven and hit the speaker.
“Yeah?”
“Your mate is gone,” his father said very testily and without preamble.
“Fuck it! Xavier’s going to slice off my balls.”
* * * *
Xavier calmly picked up a letter opener from his grandmother’s desk and tossed it with speed and accuracy at his shifter mate.
“Damn! Xavier, gorgeous, I was wrong—”
“Find. My. Keeley,” Xavier spat out. “I entrust his safety to you and what do you do, Drake? Well?”
“Gods, he played me. I fell for it. My father and Emile have our soldiers out hunting him, he won’t have gotten far. They’ll track and take him home.”
Xavier picked up his phone and hit a number. “My light, where are you?”
“Hi, Xav! Just taking a joy ride. This Porsche is hot, though not as good as my car. Why was my car up on some machine thingy?”
“I have no idea. Please turn around and return to the compound.”
“Not a chance. You’ve got your mate now, Xavier. Time for me to split. I’ll dump the Porsche.”
“You will not.” Xavier hissed.
“If you get hissy, I hang up,” Keeley retorted snappily.
